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Track and Field Captain at Wabash 1913

According to newspaper articles in 1913 published in both the Denver Post and the Louisiana Times-Picyune (sp?), Alva was chosen captain of the Wabash Track and Field team in 1913 to lead them in 1914.

Coaching History

Before he was graduated from Wabash College, he is reported to have coached at several small towns in Indiana. His first "major" coaching job was at Lebanon where he took his team to the state finals and won in 1917. The next year he moved to Anderson and took that team to the state finals where they met the Lebanon team (from the year before) and lost.

The 1917 score was Lebanon 34 over Gary 26. The 1918 score was Lebanon 24 over Anderson 20.

He took his Anderson team to the finals in 1921 when they lost 35-22 to Franklin. I could not find that he again took a team to the state basketball finals.

He coached in Anderson until about the 1931-32 season. About that time Anderson was suspended by the IHSAA due to "importation" of a player from Akron, Ohio. Arthur Trester, commissioner of the IHSAA, spoke against this practice in an annual meeting prior to the state basketball finals. Coach Staggs also spoke at the meeting (but the press did not report is remarks). He then moved to Monticello where he coached until his death.

He was inducted into the Indiana High School Basketball Hall of Fame in the mid-1960's. Nearly all of his record books from the games he coached were also donated to the Hall of Fame.